A Cheyenne lawmaker is drawing up new penalties to safeguard in-state waters from record-breaking numbers of watercraft easing down Wyoming boat ramps.
Bighorn Basin residents are being asked to join the discussion on chronic wasting disease by attending Wyoming Game and Fish meetings in Greybull and Worland.
Written by Associated Press on June 2, 2021
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) Wildlife officials believe Wyoming remains free of invasive zebra mussels three months after the mollusks turned up in aquarium products shipped into the state.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and state Department of Agriculture have been using DNA testing to monitor sewer systems for zebra mussels and the similarly invasive quagga mussel.
“If we get a positive on a wastewater facility, it would mean we would ramp up monitoring at that facility,” state fisheries chief Alan Osterland told the Casper Star-Tribune.
The species have overpopulated waters in other states, clogging water systems and destroying native wildlife habitat. Wyoming is among just a handful of states still free of the mussels native to Eurasia and introduced to the U.S. in ship ballast in the 1980s.
Bighorn Basin Residents Asked to Spot & Report Spiny Turtles Written by Andrew-Rossi on May 19, 2021
As part of an ongoing research study, biologists with Wyoming Game and Fish are asking Bighorn Basin residents to report sightings of a rare turtle.
The spiny softshell turtle is one of the largest turtles in the Bighorn Basin and North America. They have a soft, flat, rubbery outer shell, and females can grow up to 20 inches long – twice as large as males.
While common in several U.S. states, these turtles have one of the greatest conservation needs in Wyoming due to their restricted range. Although populations are thought to be stable in eastern Wyoming, the public, local landowners, and regional biologists have reported declines throughout the Bighorn Basin.
Wyoming Game and Fish To Break Ground on Cody Office Written by Andrew-Rossi on April 28, 2021
Wyoming Game and Fish’s new Cody office – designed with community engagement in mind – is ready to break ground and start construction.
The ground will be broken for the new Cody regional office later this week. For the Wyoming Game and Fish, this is the culmination of a decade of planning for a “community facility.”
“The public should expect to see activity and heavy equipment at the site for the duration of construction. The initial phases of construction will include utility installation, site excavation, and concrete work,” said Dan Smith, Cody regional wildlife supervisor. “It is anticipated that the building will be dried in by fall so interior work can occur during the winter months.”